Does anyone have a netbook? good/bad??

[Pastamom]

I'm looking to get a netbook. I realize that it's not as powerful as a laptop, but it is a lot cheaper. I'm wondering what exactly are it's limits?

Do you like yours? Would you recommend one?

Thanks in advance!

 

[DreadpiratK]

My company supplied me with one, and I like it for most things. Mine has the built in air card, so i can access the internet almost anywhere, and for that it's excellent. I'm a field engineer, and I can look up schematics and manuals on site, which is a real time saver. For email communications and web surfing it's great, as well as for most office type work, word and excel and so on. Mine has a small hard drive, and a pretty slow processor, so it is not great for playing games, or any graphics intensive work.

My biggest complaint is that I have a hard time typing on it because of the small key board- I must have big fingers or something. I can do basic data entry and email on it, but i wouldn't want to try and write a novel or anything.

The other thing that is not great is the small screen. I have to scroll a lot to see whole documents, or else make them so small I can't read them. Annoying when you're trying to read a wiring schematic, but not a huge problem.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I have an HP and I love it I got it in Jan 2009 and hardly ever use our regular laptop anymore, I should say I never use it anymore.

I don't download much if anything, I think I have a few small files. I use it mainly for online bill pay and streaming Netflix movies, searching the web, getting on here, checking my e-mail, and Facebook. I have really gotten alot of use out of it, much more than my regular laptop.

But now that I have a Blackberry, I don't use it quite as much, but still almost every night and most of the weekend I'm on it.

I don't remember what specifications are for mine. It does have wireless access, and I bought the additional CD/DVD player/burner, that I think I have used once. I think it has a 1G memory, I'm not sure. It has Windows, not the other one, can't remember what OS the others have.

Suzanne

 

[3boymthr]

I got DH a Dell Mini 10 for Father's Day a year ago.

Things we like about it:

Very portable
Inexpensive
came with plenty of USB ports for attaching printer, camera and the like.

Gives us a nice second computer for surfing the net

Things I don't like about it:

It's not very upgradeable in terms of options
Lots of scrolling when seeing stuff on the internet - both up & down and side to side.
PIA for other tasks because as mentioned above as the screen is just too small.
Does not come with a CD drive so software must be downloaded or a CD drive purchased and the drives are pricey
Only came with XP which will soon be a non-supported software and it's not really upgradeable as the system just isn't powerful enough to support Vista or 7
The speaker is not very good
Slow downloads when the pages are really intense.

When I was purchasing I seriously looked at a 12" HP laptop which was on sale for only $50 more and had way more features (including the CD drive), had vista and was upgradeable, but didn't get it because DH wanted something that would fit in the glovebox of his truck.

 

[SaraJayne]

I have a Dell netbook and I like it, but I use it strictly for the web and email.

It's light, very portable and I don't mind the smaller screen.

ETA: It has Windows 7 for an OS.

 

[abmitch01]

I bought a netbook by HP thinking the lightweight would make me use it a lot. It's so slow, I rarely use it, would rather lug the laptop.

 

[foltzy]

I have a netbook, I think it's an acer. It's not my main computer. I do like it though for what I use it for. The main reason I got it was to have a portable computer that I could use in my bedroom or outside. I watch videos on it, surf the web and play some games (Mostly fb games). The scrolling can be a pain sometimes, the keyboard I've gotten use to. My DH likes to use it for various things.

It'll never take the place of my desktop, eventually, when I upgrade it'll probably be to an actual laptop but for now my netbook does the jobs.

 

[crisi]

We have an HP mini. Its nice for travel. Keyboard is too small and it isn't powerful enough to do much more than web browsing and some light work. Kids (elementary school age) use it for writing papers.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We have *~this~* one and it's great! *I paid $279 for it.

 

[rock_doctor]

I have a Toshiba NB205 and like it very much. The size of a hard cover book, 9 hrs of battery life, N wifi card in it plus you can (once you up the memory to 2 gigs which will cost you less then $32) install Windows 7 home premium on it. It will run everything from MS office ultimate (full version) to Thunderbird (email) to Firefox (browser). It has a 1.6 gig processor and i do use it at work when i don't feel like carrying in my 15" notebook. So it does what my note book does with no problems. I would not use it to convert video formats or anything that is processor heavy but for normal everyday stuff plus normal school stuff (no games) it does just fine. You know you can get a descent laptop (notebook) for less then $400. Newegg right now has a descent toshiba, 15", 4 gigs memory and so on.... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114930 for $399.99 free shipping. So you can get a laptop for a hundred or so more then a netbook...

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I just acer Aspire 1 yesterday. I love how small and compact it is. I have small fingers so the smaller keyboard is fine for me. I also like windows 7. I don't plan on using it for anything other than email and web surfing in bed.

 

[PrincessBelle09]

I have a Dell Mini and it's alright. I really like it for taking notes in class and the occasional trip to a coffee shop for studying. It's a good second computer (or in my case, third), but definitely not something I would recommend for every day use.

 

[PrincessBelle09]

I'm looking to get a netbook. I realize that it's not as powerful as a laptop, but it is a lot cheaper. I'm wondering what exactly are it's limits?

Do you like yours? Would you recommend one?

Thanks in advance!

Also, it's not good for much more than word processing and surfing the internet. Definitely spring for the laptop as a main computer or a desktop/netbook combo which can be a cheaper option depending on the capabilities that you're looking for. Also be aware of the fact that netbook hard drives tend to be much smaller and often do not run Windows. They do not have cd/dvd drives either, but you can get an external USB drive.

 

[maslex]

So, am I to assume that this would be fine for my boys? (ages 13 & 14) I was planning on getting them a laptop for Christmas but if this is fine for just surfing the net & playing the occasional farmville LOL, then I think this will be more affordable.

 

[thelittlemermaid]

I have a Gateway netbook that my husband got me for Christmas through Verizon.

Things I like about it is.... I like the size so I can carry it in my purse or bag. It has 3 usb ports so if I have it with me while we are traveling I can plug my cell phone into one of the USB ports then plug the netbook into the car. Since we only have two outlets in the front of our car, I can be charging my phone and netbook while DH charges his phone also.

What I don't like is it not having a disc drive. I'm not able to put my Photoshop software on it for my pictures. So I have to use my DS's desktop computer for that.

Before getting this I had two full size laptops. The first one just got to banged up by kids that it just wouldn't work anymore. The second one, an HP, was a piece of crap from the start. Toward the end the whole screen fell apart to the point I had to sit something behind the screen to hold it up. Then one day it just stopped turning on. NEVER again will I buy a HP! But at tax time I plan on buying a full size laptop again. I'm getting to the point I hate getting on DS's computer to do anything with my pictures. Then I will set the netbook aside for traveling only.

 

[wmharley]

My former boss has an HP 1035nr, which I reimaged the OS right now next to me.

Its good, small, light, does what it needs to do. Not a speed freak, but I do have 2GB ram in it with XP. Its loading the drivers up again.

The con is that I had to borrow an external optical drive to redo XP. On this model, the trackpad buttons are on the side which is annoying.

For me, the screen is fine. Ihave no issues with it. Another con is the SSD drive. After installing XP, out of 15GB, it has 3GB free, not including the drivers and software. i'd prefer a normal HD.

It is quiet though and no heat underneath of note.

I also ordered an HP 5102 unit. now that one is getting some nice looks from coworkers. Its also getting set up, as its brand new, Feels much sturdier than the 1035. will post more by next week.

I personally have a tablet PC (gateway) and it be hard pressed to get anything other than an tablet next time.

 

[palavra]

My husband is in seminary and wants one for writing papers, doing internet research and recopying notes. Would a netbook work for that, or should he get a full laptop?

 

[DreadpiratK]

My husband is in seminary and wants one for writing papers, doing internet research and recopying notes. Would a netbook work for that, or should he get a full laptop?

Internet research yes, writing papers, maybe not. I have a hard time typing very quickly on mine because of the cut down keyboard. Emails and things are ok, but a full fledged paper? I suppose you'd get used to it after a while, but I find the layout frustrating when I go to type since it's different than a regular keyboard in some ways. He could use an external USB keyboard if he had to do a lot of typing I suppose. Definitely try one out before buying if you can.

 

[PrincessBelle09]

So, am I to assume that this would be fine for my boys? (ages 13 & 14) I was planning on getting them a laptop for Christmas but if this is fine for just surfing the net & playing the occasional farmville LOL, then I think this will be more affordable.

As long as you're sure they're not going to get into playing computer games on it, then yes. I would consider a laptop a better investment though. My dad has been doing small biz IT consulting for the past twenty or so years and he would probably tell you the same thing.

 

[bear_mom]

Dh bought me a netbook for my birthday. It was great for surfing the internet and e-mail. Then I went back to school for my masters and after 1/2 a semester, I asked for a full size laptop.

Emily